The Prince of Aragon

CHAPTER SIX: THE DOUBLE MURDER

“Prescelto?” parroted Isla as he related the story to the whole family in their house days later, when the Emperor’s right-hand man was allowed to visit his parents. All Sommervilles surrounded him with diligent concentration as he related all the facts that he’d managed to gather from the sorceress, skipping most obviously the juicy details.

That alluring woman was an illusion, and the faster he shoved her out of his mind, the better for him. Besides, he had a difficult mission ahead which would require his full concentration. He couldn’t allow himself to be distracted by a woman.

“What does it mean?” Cameron asked with a frown. “I hope you gave that witch a good piece of mind. How come she suddenly remembers a grimoire spell? Such a deceitful creature,” he shuddered his disgust.

Novak, on the other hand, wished he could summon similar feelings where the woman was concerned. “It means the chosen one. Apparently I’m the one who’s been chosen to defeat the monarch. That’s what she assumes. She isn’t aware of the whole truth herself,” Novak felt compelled to defend the woman in her absence.

“That’s absolute crap,” Cameron asserted with vehemence. “Witches are never to be trusted. Let’s hope that she hasn’t cast a spell on you or anything. You shouldn’t have gone there alone!”

Part of him had enjoyed that private confrontation, but Novak wasn’t admitting it even to himself. Isla peered at him from under her eyelashes in a bizarre way, and he fought for composure.

“In short, Sorceress Amara seems to think that I am the only one who can defeat the Emperor, although I am not even sure if I am taking the emperor’s lives. There is a possibility that I am only doubling my remaining lives. What good would that serve us?” he commented with distaste.

“That bastard,” Owen Sommerville observed with barely repressed anger. “That good-for-nothing deceiving scoundrel.  No wonder he’s undefeatable. He must have convinced the sorceress to make only him the acquirer of the power. What a wretch.”

“If you kill him one more time, would that make your remaining lives two hundred and fifty-two?” Cameron queried in his usual brittle tone. “Or will it remain the same?"

Prince Novak shrugged. “I have no idea. Even Am... Sorceress Amara is puzzled over the fact that my life has doubled that first time. She is under the impression that I should consider myself lucky that there is some sort of rupture in the spell. Under normal circumstances, spells are not supposed to be broken.”

Isla frowned at him in surprise, catching up on his slip but he maintained a stoic expression to dissuade any suspicion. It would be humiliating for them to find out how much the sorceress affected him.

“There is only one way for us to find out,” Alice concluded in her pragmatic way. “We have to repeat the murder.”

“Are you out of your mind, mother?” Isla shrieked in a panicked voice. “Do you know how hard it was for us the last time? We were so scared of getting caught. The guards could have seen through our game anytime.”

Owen turned towards his eldest son. “Carter, what do you think?”

Novak didn’t reply for a long moment, contemplating his options. Both Amara and Alice were right – there was no other alternative to find out more if he didn’t stab Salvatore another time. At least then, they would have more insight on their next moves in the mission.

Finally, when everyone was staring at him with their hearts in their mouths, he moved his head vertically in the barest nod.

“You can’t be serious, Cart. You’re really thinking into committing another murder with all those people around us? With those guards surrounding the castle like hounds? Do you know what will happen if we’re discovered? I doubt that Emperor would kill us with mercy. He will torture us to death!”

There was a feeling of fear in Isla’s voice, Novak noticed grimly. Fear made people do irrational things, behave out of character for he’d known her to be fierce and intrepid. Doubt filled him as the mission seemed to get more complicated – things were getting out of control.

With laser-focused eyes, Prince Novak turned towards Isla. “Ilaria, have you forgotten why you’ve taken up this mission?”

The use of her real name seemed to snap her back to reality, her momentary fear and panic replaced by that cold and unsatiable quest for vengeance. A feeling that all the other five members could relate to – they inadvertently shared the same hatred for the one common enemy who had been in one way or another the reason for their tragedy. Five bereaved thrust together by circumstances.

Isla’s pupils dilated as she clenched her jaw with purposeful willpower, all her apprehension appearing to have disappeared as her blue cyan eyes darkened with unpleasant memories. “Alright, I’m in,” she nodded briskly, sending an aggrieved look towards her mother.

“Good,” the prince concluded, squeezing her hand for encouragement. “What about you Cam? Are you in this time?”

“Oh yeah,” Cameron responded enthusiastically. “I’m always in to s*******r that monster who killed my mother. No matter how many times it will take to bring that bastard down.”

Connor hissed in a breath at the mention of Rose Sommerville, the haunted look in his eyes a witness to the fact of how much he blamed himself for her death. Cameron, being his twin seemed to be attuned to his turmoil and responded in his place. “Connor’s also ready,” Cameron quickly announced to the group.

“Let’s stab him twice,” Alice blurted out. “Who knows maybe if you stab him twice, your lives will quadruple?”

Novak frowned in her direction. “You mean it would become five hundred and four instead?”

“Yeah, if it works, we will move faster the next time,” she suggested, her shrewd eyes fixated on her son as the idea gemmed into something more than a mere prospect. “We’ll work on that later. Let’s just test if it works first. You stab him twice, if it becomes five hundred and four, better for us. We just have to calculate the remaining stabs then.”

“That’s a great idea,” Isla easily agreed, and the rest nodded avidly.

“Alright, then,” Novak concluded, not meeting Connor in the eyes. He was still peeved with the latter for his ungracious comment. “We repeat the process. Ma, you sew the clothes, and provide all the accessories. Isla, you make sure you have all the necessities for the mission. And the rest of us will need to get more laudanum and cloth from the market without being too obvious.”

The second time proved to be easier, since they were repeating the same process as the previous time, forearmed with the experience of the first murder. Everyone knew the part he would have to play, so everyone kept busy.

Novak was on his way to the marketplace to buy the finest silk which they would need to sew a replacement nightgown for the Emperor. To make the change inconspicuous, he had to buy expensive materials which would befit a King, and of course the most cloth was what he went looking for.

“Carter,” a voice stopped him as he was saddling his horse Storm in the stables to prepare for his voyage. He knew who it was of course. Connor. “Have a minute?” the lad asked him hesitantly, with surprisingly no trace of his trademark complacency.

“Sure,” the Prince muttered under his breath, as they together moved towards the bench. Novak had an inkling that this might take long.

Connor stared at the ground in fascination, unable to search for the right words after the way he’d unleashed his anger unfairly to Carter.

“I am responsible for her death, you know,” he said slowly, abruptly like the words were forced from him, as his gaze remained fixed on the ground. Novak inhaled deeply as the same words resonated in his mind but in a different context. I am responsible for my parent’s death.

Words that he’d never spoken loud before until last evening to that unnerving woman. A vivid flash of her creamy skin, long bewitching hair and honeyed topaz eyes flashed in his mind which he shoved at the back forcefully.

Keeping silence, Novak allowed Connor to continue, hoping that it would unload some of his little brother’s burden at least. Although they’d shared memories of their mother with him, neither boy had ever spoken about that terrifying day.

“She’d been pestering me to help her with her chores. I, being such a bastard refused to aid her in the kitchen. Thought it wasn’t manly enough for me. She’d been working hard for that damned Emperor’s birthday. Do you know the reason why she was beheaded? For a damned cherry? Apparently, the Emperor h... hates…I mean, is that a reason to murder someone?”

Connor was shaking his head even while speaking, and Novak grabbed his hand in support. “You’re not responsible for that man’s atrocities. He’s just a tyrant who’s taking advantage of his powers.”

“I’m sorry, Cart,” Connor finally said in a husky voice. “I’m sorry for what I said. I didn’t mean it.”

Novak looked away, his face taunt with tension and anger. “Five years, Con. I have looked after both of you for five years. I have been a brother to you in every way I could. How could you doubt me?”

“I didn’t doubt you. Not for one second. I was just pissed that our revenge was not accomplished, and I let my frustration get the better of me. It was uncalled for. I’m really sorry.”

Novak nodded with a jerk of his head.

“We’re on a suicide mission, you know that? The only way to survive in all that craziness is that we stick together. We need to be able to trust each other unblinkingly. If we don’t have that, we’re going to be our own downfall.”

“I know that, Cart. It’s just that sometimes I blame myself so much that I no longer care about what happens to me. All I want, all I care about is that Aldo Salvatore should be beheaded, the same way he’d killed my mother. That other night, I was so happy – I thought that finally justice was served. That I had finally avenged the futile death of my mother. But no! That bastard is still alive! Still alive!” he sobbed like he’d done on Rose’s demise.

“Hey, hey! We’ll get there. We are getting there. I promised you retribution for your mother, and we will have it.”

“Why are you doing this?” Connor asked abruptly, searching Novak’s face for some pointers that they were in this together, that they were going to end this ordeal soon enough.

It wasn’t the first time the Sommervilles had been curious about his past – they had tried to ponder over the reason for his desire to revenge before. He’d always been evasive, had never shared his story to anyone, not because he didn’t trust them.

He didn’t want them to see him differently – basically, he was their King being the heir to the throne. There was a probability that they would treat him differently if they got to know his truth.

“Same reason as you,” he replied finally. “Aldo Salvatore murdered my parents, and I wish to have my pound of flesh. So, I know what you’re talking about. That yearning to set things straight. I’ve felt that for many years. But, we need to be patient. He’s not a trivial enemy.”

“Will you forgive me?” Connor’s green eyes flashed with remorse.

“Of course. But when the going gets tough, the tough gets going. And it’s going to get tough, alright. Things are not working according to the plan, and I am sticking to my instincts. And for that, you’d have to put your whole faith with me. I want to know whether I can trust you. I can depend on you?”

“Oh, Cart! Yes of course you can. Thank you for forgiving me,” Connor squeezed Novak’s hand harder.

“There’s one more thing,” the Prince said before standing up to mount Storm in one swift uplift, while Connor looked at him with glittering hero-worship eyes. “If it’s too much for you, you can back out anytime.  If you feel it’s too much pressure, talk to me. There’s no imposition on anyone – anyone can back out anytime.”

Connor nodded solemnly, crossing his arms across his chest in gratitude. “I’ll keep that in mind, Carter.”

With a wave and a tap of his feet, Prince Novak set on his journey in an incognito mode. If ever the Emperor’s soldiers were to investigate, he’d better cover his tracks well. He paid a poor lad to buy the cloth for him, under a false name, and paid the latter handsomely when he came back with the correct order.

Next was the laudanum which he planned to get with the same strategy. However, when he reached to Lexington market filled with cartwheels, he sensed a presence behind him. It felt more like the skin on his nape puckered, but when he whirled around, there was no one familiar in sight.

Dismayed, he lost himself among the crowd, glancing furtively behind him from time to time until he wasn’t certain whether it had just been a figment of his imagination. It spooked him though, that disturbing hunch that somebody was following him, his senses on high alert. Unwilling to endanger his mission, he finished his purchase quickly, and delivered the products to the Sommerville before returning back to the castle.

It took them days to work out the plan again, with every meticulous detail outlined over and over again in case of any error. It was clear to all of them that the slightest mistake would be fatal.

Like they’d been doing in the past, Novak and Isla went through the secret passage to embezzle the sword, while Connor and Cameron were on alert. When they came back, Isla tricked the guards into drinking the spirits laced with the morphine. Novak had already served a hefty dose to the Emperor that very night.

When they ensured that the palace was dead, with no one awakened soul to witness their actions, all four accomplices entered the palatial suite in utmost secrecy. Once again, Novak stood in the same position, raising the sword in an attacking position, before plunging the weapon into the murderer’s chest.

This time, there was no hesitation when he stabbed the sleeping form on the bed – he was sure that defeating that evil man was the sole reason of his survival. There had to be a purpose for a moron like him to still live while two wonderful human beings as his parents were dead. No, they had sacrificed themselves for his sake. His sake. He had to do this for them, for the betterment of the Ohana.

Again, the tyrant’s eyes bulged open, the icy blue turning colorless like the life had been drained out.

Removing the sword, he took the guard’s position, and with a fluttering heart, he discovered that the number of years had increased. He was now up to two hundred and fifty-two. With a conspiratorial nod towards the others who’d already started their task, he once again stabbed the man in the chest.

This time, there was no response from him as Aldo Salvatore appeared dead, and when Novak removed the weapon, he wasted two precious seconds checking for his life counter. It remained the same.

Two hundred and fifty-two.

With a negative nod towards them, he couldn’t afford to waste time ruminating about what was happening. Switching to a robot, he executed the tasks that they’d planned to the perfection, trying to forget that he had just killed a man in his sleep.

It was the only time that Amara believed that lives could be stolen from the Emperor. Witches believed that when a human was asleep, his soul temporarily left his body to wander the abodes. Thus, leaving behind only a cadaver vulnerable to attacks.

Those who had witnessed Aldo Salvatore being stabbed during battles had narrated that the man removed the artillery and arrows from his body like a mere nuisance, without a single drop of blood.

It had to be working. At least, that first time surely meant that lives were being drawn from that invincible brute.

“We’re good,” Isla whispered shakily, heaving the heavy bag which contained all their mess, and Novak rushed to take it from her hands. “Let’s go!” she urged hurriedly.

In the barely lit corridors hemmed in with the perfect arching walls, there wasn’t enough light for them to see where they were running to. Relying solely on their instincts, sometimes on the brownish red hues reflecting at certain angles, they tore through the dark until they were almost within the safety of Novak’s room. Almost.

They stopped precipitously when they came face to face with someone who blocked their escape.

“Stand back,” Novak ordered in the dark, coming forward to protect his comrades who all took a step backwards. In self-defense mode, he drew forward the magical sword which they hadn’t had the time to return, preparing himself for a fight.